The Tutor

Part 13

To her face, nobody treated Lauren any differently but everyone was looking at her. Classmates who would usually greet her in the hall no longer acknowledge her presence. Some teachers have even started treating her differently.

Her home life wasn't much better either. Her parents have chosen to completely ignore everything they've been told about her and are now trying to set Lauren up with a 'nice boy'. That's all her parents talk about nowadays: 'nice boys'.

She now sits with Camila and her friends at lunch. Before the whole incident, Lauren wanted nothing more than to join Camila at lunch but now she wishes she was anywhere else. Camila has been lost in her head the past few days because her boss fired her, and no one at the table really knows what to talk about. So lunch is mostly spent in silence.

After school, Dinah invited everyone over to her house to try and cheer them up. She suggested they play twister, as they did on New Year's Eve. However, Lauren and Camila just sat off to the side sulking. After twister failed, Ally suggested they all have a dance party. She even put on Camila's Spotify, but still nothing. Neither Lauren nor Camila could find the will to get up and dance. Eventually, everyone just decided to go home.

Lauren and Camila were walking over to Lauren's car when Normani stopped them, "Hey guys! Wait up!" Normani was running over to them, "Have you guys really talked about what you each went through with each other?"

They both looked at each other and shrugged, "I mean, kinda."

"Maybe you guys should try to talk about it more - you know, really cry about it," Normani shrugged, "Just a suggestion." Normani hugged both Camila and Lauren before she got into her own car to drive home.

Camila turned to face Lauren, "Wanna come over to my house? Maybe we can try to talk more over there." Lauren nodded and she drove them to Camila's house. Her house was loud like always, but they didn't stop to greet anyone and just walked straight to Camila's room.

They both sat on Camila's bed and looked at each other. Nobody said anything for a long time. They just looked. But Lauren couldn't hold it in anymore, and she burst out crying. Camila held her close and rubbed soothing circles into her back while she cried.

"It's going to get better," She kissed the top of Lauren's head, "I promise."

"Everyone hates me," Lauren cried, "My parents, my friends . . . they all abandoned me." Camila continued to rub her back, "I hate being at home. The way my parents look at me . . . Camila, I can't stand it," Lauren sniffled, "And Alexa hasn't talked to me at all."

"I'm so sorry you're going through this, baby. I'm so sorry."

Lauren eventually sat up and wiped her nose. She took Camila in her arms, "Okay, you go."

Camila took a deep breath, "I got fired . . . for being gay. And it sucks because I liked my job and coworkers . . . and all that was taken away from me because of my sexuality," Camila sniffled, "Lucas says I should sue, but that's too expensive," She chuckled, "I've been out of the closet so long I forgot discrimination like this actually still exists."

Lauren rubbed her back and kissed her hand, "You're so strong. Never forget that."

Camila reached up to kiss Lauren's lips, "I'm really happy that I have you. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Camila sat up and grabbed Lauren's hands, "And about your situation with Alexa - I think you should ask her if you being gay is something she can work through. Believe it or not, my mom wasn't always so accepting in the past. But . . . I asked her if my sexuality is something she needed time to process or something that she'll never get over," Camila shrugged, "And look at us now. She just needed time to process."

Lauren nodded, "I'll talk to her one more time," She smiled, "Thank you."

Camila reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her laptop, "We need to unwind with some Brooklyn 99."

"Agreed," Lauren laughed. She ended up spending the night at Camila's house, and they spent the whole night watching Brooklyn 99.